Home Charging Incentives Come With Unexpected Cost

When Eversource and United Illuminating began offering incentives to offset the cost of buying and installing a level 2 home charging unit, the incentives also include up to $200/annually for participation in the managed charging program. (Participation in the managed charging program is mandatory if one takes the incentives for charging hardware/installation.) The only current version of managed charging that is operational at this time is the demand/response program, where during designated high-demand times occurring from June through September, the utility can throttle the rate of charge which would roughly lower the speed of the charge to the equivalent of a level one trickle-charge for the duration of the event.

Of course, at the point at which this program was inaugurated, there were already over 21,000 EV owners and some number (we don’t know how many) of installed home chargers. The majority of these EVs (based on number of registrations) are eligible to participate in the demand/response program without having an approved charger by using telematics. This way, the utility controls the rate of charge directly with the vehicle.

Through the work of Roger Kappler and Will Cross of the Tesla Owners Club, and Paul Braren of the EV Club, we have learned that the utility “wakes up” the car to check charging status on a frequent basis, as often as every 30 minutes. What is really strange is that this checking is happening all the time (24/7/365) and not just during designated demand/response periods, hence the”vampire” charge. The car is using power even though it is sitting there doing nothing. Like your cable box (or sentry mode if you are a Tesla owner). Roger estimates that the charge is the equivalent of .5-1% per day, which at 20 cents per kWh, works out to about $70 annually. The program pays a one time $100 enrollment incentive for telematics plus the above-noted $200 for demand/response. This passive electric use takes quite a bite out of that. If the vehicle isn’t plugged in, then it contributes to range loss.

Per Roger, Eversource has reported that it will be fixed but that it could take as long as 6 months.

The detailed Facebook post can be found here. (Note: This is a closed FB group.)

This does not apply if you are using an approved smart charger as far as we know. (We’re checking.)

This is not occurring with UI customers (according to UI). If any UI customers notice this, please leave a comment!

EV Club Follow Up with Eversource and UI

This post concerns vehicles with telematics. Telematics is where the utility is able to communicate directly with the vehicle, as opposed to a smart charger, the latter being the basic design of the program. This information has been developing, and in some cases, changing. This is the latest. Here goes.

The basic design of the program is to provide subsidies of up to $1000 for the purchase and installation of smart chargers. In return, the recipient is required to participate in the demand response programs where the utility can throttle the rate of charge during high demand periods. The utility pays then the customer $200 annually for full participation in the demand response.

One thing that is different than what is in the video of our meeting is that all vehicles, including Tesla, are eligible for a smart charger subsidy. At this time, there are no approved Tesla chargers in the program. That could change if Tesla chooses to submit a charger for qualification (or possibly they have and it is in the approval process). Tesla owners can use an eligible J1772 smart charger and qualify for the hardware incentive. Of course, an adapter will be necessary.

For those people who already have chargers that are not qualified chargers because they are either dumb chargers or non-approved smart chargers, another way to participate in the program is via telematics, if you have an eligible vehicle. Tesla, Chevrolet, Ford and a few other makes have eligible vehicles. This is the page that lists eligible vehicles for each company. It is subject to change and is expected to change as this is still early days. There is a $100 enrollment incentive for people participating via telematics.

Registering for Telematics

Registering for this telematics path is difficult and confusing at this point because Eversource and UI are still in the process of building out their websites and back-end integration. The back-end part of it is further complicated because there are two external vendors involved. One vendor is managing the rebates. The other is managing the telematics. Both utilities are using the same vendor for the rebates, but they are using different vendors for telematics. Consequently, there will be different vehicles that are telematics-eligible for each utility. While it is possible to stumble your way through the process, it is better to wait for the time being. As long as the program registration is done before June, no incentive amount will be lost.

We have provided detailed feedback to the utilities about the pain points in the registration funnels as they exist now.

In the case of Eversource, there is yet another layer because it is retaining its Connected Solutions branding and transitioning it to the new program. This process is not complete and there is old content still on the website. It is possible to link to that old content from the homepage and you may find yourself answering questions that are non-sequiturs. Some members have reported landing on a Massachusetts page. This is all part of the same problem, and the advice is the same – wait.

When we booked the virtual club meeting about this program for early in the year, we did not realize that there was still be a lot of developmental work to be done by the utilities to get to full implementation. Eversource and UI have advised us that in about a month, they will be able to give us more definitive information regarding the specifics of a more consumer-friendly telematics registration funnel and we will communicate that out when we have them.